How do you say "Could you turn it down?" in Japanese?

"Could you turn it down?" in Japanese is "小さくしてもらえますか？". This phrase is commonly used in Japan.

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How to Say ‘Could you turn it down?’ in Japanese

Q: What does "小さくしてもらえますか？" mean in English?

"小さくしてもらえますか？" means "Could you turn it down?" in English. Usage tip: [〜してもらえますか] is a polite way to ask someone to do something for you: here [小さくしてもらえますか] is literally "could I have you make it quieter?" You can reuse it with other requests, like [静かにしてもらえますか？] or [窓を閉めてもらえますか？].

小さくしてもらえますか？

chiisaku shi te morae masu ka

[chee-sah-koo shee]

💬 Usage Tip: [〜してもらえますか] is a polite way to ask someone to do something for you: here [小さくしてもらえますか] is literally "could I have you make it quieter?" You can reuse it with other requests, like [静かにしてもらえますか？] or [窓を閉めてもらえますか？].

Phrase Breakdown

小さく

chiisaku

[chee-sah-koo]

quietly; smaller (adverb form)

小さい becomes 小さく to modify a verb. In noise complaints, 小さくする means “turn it down / make it quieter.”

Example

音量を小さくしてもらえますか？

Could you turn the volume down for me?

して

shi

do (te-form)

Te-form of する. Used to connect to requests/favors: 小さくして… = “make it quieter and …”.

Example

ここに名前を書いてください。

Please write your name here.

Words in this phrase

し

shi

[shee]

do (stem of する)

The verb stem of する. It combines with て to make the て-form: して.

Example

夜はもう少し静かにしてもらえますか？

At night, could you keep it a little quieter?

もらえますか？

could you do (it) for me?

Polite request pattern: Vて + もらえますか. Softer than 命令 and common in neighbor/customer situations.

Example

見せてもらえますか？

Could you show me (it)?

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